Two Smokin Barrels
by ZOLTAR-XD
Summary: When a man who has almost has anything he could ever want, has everything taken away from him, he becomes truly broken. But, when Joseph McCree is presented with a second chance he's tempted to take it; only problem is his distrust of his older brother. Will this sibling rivalry get in the way of his second chance? Or can he rebuild his bond with his brother?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So it has been a loooooong while since I've been on this. And after reading the "stories" I was working on before I decide to clear them off and start anew. So I decided to do some Overwatch, this chapter will be shorter than the rest because this will be more of an intro to see if readers will enjoy it or not. If you do enjoy it leave a review and tell me what you may want to see in the future.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **9/12 I am going to be putting up a chapter one revision. I didn't like how I portrayed the main character and wanted him to seem more humble and relatable. It'll be up soon though I swear! Being a senior in high school makes my schedule freak out a lot.**

* * *

"I want that quarterly report by the end of tomorrow Joseph." My boss chided through the video call. Even though I had been quite adequate in my abilities as a mechanical supervisor, Mr. Rucker tried to treat me like an incompetent subordinate. "Yes sir, I'm just revising any mistakes I could've made. I'll send it to you when it's done." I replied, without another word he hung up the call and I gathered my things to go home. I like my job don't get me wrong, but the management here is horrible. It's either that I'm always working overtime to pick up slack or I get treated like shit. No matter, I have more important things to do.

I decided to walk home instead of taking the bus, it was safe enough in Numbani to where I didn't worry much. "Hey Joseph!" The familiar voice of an Omnic yelled from behind me. It was Reg, he's a good friend of mine and a co worker, "Hey Reg, you and the other guys going to the bar again?" I asked as we exchanged a manly hug, or as close as you can get with an Omnic. "Yeah we are, I saw you walking down the street and wondered if you'd join us tonight. Alexi is picking up the tab tonight." He pointed over to a small group of guys that I've seen working at the tech company where I work. Reg was the only real friend I had and I'm not entirely keen on new faces, "Thanks but I'm gonna just go home, I'll see you tomorrow alright?" I said, "Very well." He said and patted my arm, "Sooner or later you're going to have to make more friends than me. You know I'm right." I nodded and he walked back over to the others.

I finally reached my apartment building and took the elevator to the 4th floor where I lived. I hadn't even finished unlocking the door when someone on the other side tried to eagerly open it, I couldn't help but smile. "James, let go of the door so daddy can get in ok?" And with that the knob stopped wiggling and I walked into my dark apartment, it must have been 2 o'clock in the morning. Way past my son's bedtime. I turned on the light to see my son in his Overwatch themed pajamas holding a stuffed "cute" version of the Overwatch agent Winston. He yawned and rubbed his eye, "But I was waiting for you, mommy fell asleep before she read me my story. Can you please read?" I set my keys in a bowl next to the door and escorted James to his room. I found his favorite story and sat down on the end of his bed, it was about Overwatch and the first Omnic crisis. I was not part of the initial crisis but I was the mechanical wiz of a military operation that worked closely with its agents, but that was 7 years ago when Overwatch started to become under fire for some outrageous claims of corruption.

I didn't get done with the first page before he had finally passed out, I quietly closed the book, tucked my little trooper in, and sneaked out of his room to my bed. I saw my wife sound asleep and still in her work clothes, she was a 5th grade school teacher so seeing her sprawled out on the bed exhausted wasn't surprising. I stealthily took off her shoes and put the blanket over her, then gathered my things for a shower. I decided to be quick since I stayed at work late again and wanted to get some much needed sleep. After the quick shower I went to the mirror and wiped off the steam which condensated around it, examining the features on my face I saw that my scar. A war wound, some shrapnel from an RPG caught the left side of my face; I can see fine there's just a scar over my left eye that travels from my hairline to my jaw.

While I was looking in the mirror, seeing that scar, brought back memories I would've liked keep buried in my subconscious.

I returned to my bed to see that my wife had stirred some and gotten deeper into the covers. Slowly I sneaked to my side and slid into the soft, cool sheets, Shae was her name. She lazily opened one eye to see if it was me and then slowly scooted closer so I wrapped my arms around her, "Hey," she whispered obviously tired. "Hey, long day?" I asked, she let out a soft groan which indicated "yes" and rolled over. I hugged her closer and fell fast asleep.

…

"Get down!" My commander yelled from behind me as he threw me to the floor. Out of nowhere we we're attacked by a terrorist group of unknown terrorist out in Egypt while they we're escorting me to the local power grid. It had mysteriously deactivated, now I know why. Bullets and explosions were sounding all around us as we ran to the cover of a nearby home. "We need extraction!" I yelled into my radio, taking cover at a window and firing potshots at where I think they were.

"Hold on we're transferring you to a different channel stand by!" Command yelled back, "Transferring? What the hell do you mean transferring!?" I was greeted by silence as the enemy advanced on us. My pistol made a heart wrenching "click" as I had exhausted my last mag, we were already down 3 men and they just didn't stop advancing on us. "We need to-" my CO was cut off by an explosion that blew in the entire front wall. The debris knocked me into a corner under a table and trapped me under it, all I could hear was the sound of men yelling and gunfire and, pulse munitions? Those aren't standard military rounds what the hell is going on out there?

After a moment the gunfire stopped and the rubble around me started to be lifted off of me. I looked up to see a huge, heavily armored man with a hammer standing over me, as he threw the large pieces of rubble like it was nothing he yelled out in a thick German accent, "Over here! I have a survivor!" He picked me up and stood me on my feet, I couldn't quite tell but I think he was looking for any wounds. Another voice from behind me that sounded beautiful and angelic spoke up, "Let him go Reinhardt, I got him." Instantly my aching bones and throbbing headache subsided, I looked to see a tall blonde woman with robotic wings and some staff thing that seemed to heal me. I was dumbfounded, by the fact that somehow she was healing me and she looked absolutely beautiful. Wait a second, why does Reinhardt sound- holy shit. "You're Overwatch! Oh my God I'm such a huge-" a hand on my shoulder stopped me mid sentence. "I'm gonna guess this is your first time in a combat situation, isn't it soldier?" A strong, gruff voice echoed in the back of my ears. No. Fucking. Way. I turned to see Jack Morrison, The Jack Morrison, commander of Overwatch, standing right in front of me. "Um- well yes. I mean yes sir! It is sir!" I quickly saluted him, he gave me a smirk before continuing, "At ease soldier, we're here to make sure your objective gets completed. I trust you know the way?" Eagerly I responded, "Yes sir, the power grid is located at the east side of the village. If you can help me get there I should have it up and running in about five minutes depending on the damage." He nodded and then gestured me to lead the way, I turned around to start walking toward the objective when something crunched under my feet. I looked down, to see the lifeless hand of one of my squad mates; that was when I noticed something. "Was I the only survivor?" I whispered, a heavy armored hand rested on my back. I took that as confirmation, took a deep breath, and started walking to the objective.

After some time the blonde who I recognized as Mercy glided over to me and attempted to make me feel better with some small talk. "So, where are you from?" I looked to her and said, "I lived in New Mexico with my dad and older brother. I live in Numbani now with my wife." Her eyes widened, "How does someone such as yourself go from New Mexico to Numbani?" "Well when Pa died I lived alone with my brother but he started getting evolved with this Deadlock gang before you guy's did that big sting operation. He's in a maximum security prison now. After that I got as far away as possible. " She looked at me with confusion before shouting something in German and gliding back to Morrison, after a moment of walking through the quiet village he jogged up to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Out of curiosity, what's your name son?" I turned to him and said, "Joseph, why sir?" "No, your last name soldier." I was about to speak up when a vaguely familiar voice behind me roughly said, "McCree, Joseph McCree. Been a long time, little brother."

My chest grew heavy and my fist clenched, through my gritted teeth I said, "Jesse, what the hell are you doing out of jail?" I slowly reached for my holstered side arm, "Don't even think about it," I could hear him slowly move towards his side arm as well, without a second thought I drew and spun around as fast as I could.

And fired.

* * *

 **WHAAAAAAT? Just kidding XD**

 **This is going to be a short chapter fyi**

 **leave a review and everything so I can be motivated to continue! Or tell me if there is a different Overwatch themed story you would like to see. (You as in the reader, like all of you. So I guess I actually mean yous?)**


	2. Chapter 2

**_AN: I do apologize for the long wait it's been a stressful few weeks. BUT, with the help of my beta reader tijgersprong, (who by the way is a complete badass who deserves a round of applause *claps*) I suck at maintaining a definite schedule so sorry. Enjoy!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: please don't make me do these it should be obvious_**

* * *

I awoke with a startle, the sound of that gunshot still ringing in my ears. My panicked breathing and jumpy heart rate slowly calmed down and allowed me to get my bearings. I turned to my alarm clock which had 8:15 am digitally written across it, thankfully I was off work today so I didn't worry about oversleeping. Groggily I threw the covers off and headed towards the shower, instead of turning on warm and relaxing water I decided to wake myself up with some ice cold water. The water felt like millions of frozen daggers pricking into my skin that sent electricity throughout my entire body, at least I was more than awake now. Fully awake and dressed I stepped into the kitchen to acquire the only thing that keeps me alive and sane, coffee. To my delight I saw a steaming hot, white, porcelain cup sitting on the counter with a note leaning on it, I opened it up to see a green crayon scribble that read, "Have a good day daddy!" I felt a smile tug on my lips as I slowly sipped the dark brown nectar, my white and green decorated living room could been seen through my open-ended kitchen and was slightly illuminated by the sunlight through the blinds making the calming environment seem almost dreamy. I walked into the living room and grabbed a book off the tall black bookshelf titled "The Great Gatsby", books were becoming increasingly hard to come by with everything becoming digital, but classics like this on old paperback were rare. I sat down on the couch with the hot cup of coffee in one hand and the book in the other, ready to enjoy a quiet peaceful of my morning. That was until an awful smell entered my nostrils. Somebody had been smoking in my house. It was oddly familiar, it was like someone had set hair on fire while burning something in an oven and was fanning it right into my face. "Wait a minute, I haven't smelled that shitty type of cigarette since-" I shot up off the couch, spilling coffee all over the floor, but before I turned around I heard the hammer of a familiar gun click behind me. I froze, "Hey little brother, mind if we go for a walk? We got some catching up to do."

….

A flash of white and a high pitched ringing engulfed my senses as I pulled the trigger, just as quickly as I shot, something hit me in the chest and sent me sprawling to the ground. When my vision slowly started returning I was lying on the ground, with Jesse standing over me with the same cocky smile I remember from my childhood. "Well howdy little brother, what brings you to this part of Egypt?" I lifted my head just a little bit and said, "Go to hell." His cocky smile quickly faded from his face as he roughly hoisted me up by my uniform. Holding me up he sternly whispered, "Listen here you little ankle biter, we're going to be working together. And I need to know without an inkling of doubt that I ain't gonna get shot in the back by friendly fire. So, you don't shoot me and I won't send you to meet the spirit in the sky. Deal?" His face was, different than I remembered. It looked older than before, and there were more scars. His eyes had a cold, determined stare, almost like the older soldiers whom I've worked with which have seen the worst of humanity. But what took me by surprise was the robot arm, it's not that prosthetics or anything of that nature was uncommon but it just took me by surprise. He took a long drag on his cigarette and blew the smoke in my face, and I pushed out of his grasp. "Whatever." I huffed and pushed past him towards the objective.

We walked in complete silence, that was until a metallic hand grabbed my shoulder. "Hold it," said Jesse. "What is it now?" I snapped, clearly agitated. He just stood there scanning our surroundings, I was about to brush his hand off and continue but he tackled me to the ground. Just as he did a bullet whizzed just inches from my head, "Sniper! Ana you see'em?" Morrison shouted as he dove behind a wall.

Reinhardt rushed ahead of us and activated his energy barrier just as another gunshot sounded. From where it impacted I should have an extra orifice in my face right now. "Is it him?" McCree shouted, still on top of me. Without a word Ana fired her rifle and lowered it back to its resting place, "You and your brother can stop playing in the dirt now, that definitely wasn't him." I pushed Jesse off of me and stood up, while dusting myself off I asked, "Who are you talking about?" Ana looked at me, but before she said anything Morrison cut in. "Just some sniper, don't worry about it. You need to complete your objective let's go."

I didn't like being kept in the dark like that, but I accepted it anyways. I heard a pair of spurs speed up behind me and eventually slowing down next to me. I turned to see Jesse giving me a ticked off stare. "What?" I asked, "How about a thank you for starters. Then an apology for-" I snapped, "Apologize? To you? Maybe when hell finally freezes over and pigs start flying. You shouldn't be here, you're just a no good dirty criminal who should be rotting in a cell. These people are heroes, so unless they got desperate enough to start picking up trash off the street as soldiers you-" a robotic fist clocked me across the jaw and sent me crashing into a few glass vases. I rolled over ignoring the pain and looked up at him, his face was blocked by the shade of his hat but was quickly illuminated when he took a long drag from his cigarette. "You done?" I pushed off the ground, I wanted to stare at him with as much hate as I could muster; but something about him reminded me about Pa. The way he stared at me, even after what I said he still wasn't angry just, disappointed. I dusted myself off, "Yeah, let's go." Instead of pushing past him I stopped and placed a hand on his shoulder, "This doesn't change anything, but thanks." And continued onwards.

…

We walked to a cafe a few blocks from my apartment. In order to make it seem that I wasn't being held against my will, he bought me a cup of coffee and some apple pie. "You got some nerve Jesse, what the hell do you want?" I asked, my knuckles were white as I gripped my fork tightly. Through a mouthful of apple pie he responded, "Just thought you should know something. I'm leaving Overwatch, or more specifically." He swallowed and leaned in closer to whisper. "Blackwatch."

He stared at me for a moment, expecting me to know what the hell that meant. Noticing my confusion he continued in a low whisper, "Blackwatch is the more, darker side of Overwatch. It's a covert operations unit that operates under the radar, and isn't restricted to any red tape the UN tries to throw at us." I took a long sip of my coffee, not sure how to take in this information. "So why are you leaving? No restrictions and under the radar sounds like your type of game." His fists clenched up, he knew I was just trying to get under his skin but he kept his cool. "Yes, it was. I thought that I could fix all the wrongs I did by bringing some justice to the world. Blackwatch made it easier to do that, but they've done more wrong than right little brother. Now with Overwatch coming under fire it's only a matter of time before they discover Blackwatch and all the messed up shit they've-, we've done. And when that happens, Overwatch won't be here anymore." There was a sadness in his voice, I was shocked. How was I supposed to take this? "So you're just going to abandon them? Like you abandoned me?" I scolded. He snapped, he lunged forward and grabbed me by my shirt collar. Pulling me over the table he yelled, "I. Did. Not. Abandon. You! I left you so you could have a chance at a better life. They were using you as leverage to make me do horrible things, saying that if I didn't they would do worse than kill ya! That was the hardest choice I have ever made in my life, but it was the only way I could protect you." Without thinking I sent a hook straight into his jaw and watched him fall onto the floor over our food and broken plates. I'll admit, a part of me wished I didn't do that. "Why did you come here? What do you want from me?" He picked his hat up off the ground and stared me down, but surprisingly broke out into a smile. "You hit like ma used to. You know that right?" I was still dumbfounded, the old Jesse I knew shot someone for saying his hat was an odd color, but he's done way worse to people who had outright attacked him.

Everyone in the cafe was staring at us so I decided it would be best if we left. I motioned towards the door, "That wasn't all I came to tell you." He said as we walked out the front door, lighting a cigarette. "I've heard rumors of that a terrorist organization is working in Blackwatch. And anyone that's not joining them is gonna get a bullet, but that leaves a problem." He offered me one but I declined, "What kind of problem?" I asked, he took a long drag of his cigarette before responding. "I've managed to leave without a trace, I'm good at that. But these guys, if they are who I think, then you and your family are going to take my place." For a moment I didn't process this right, but then it struck like lightning. "What!? What do you mean? How could you-" he put his metallic hand on my shoulder. "I refuse to let anything, ANYTHING, happen to them. I swear to you I will do all I can to protect you all. So here, take this." He handed me a familiar looking Barreta, it was jet black with silver engravings along the handle and barrel, the weight and size sent a cold chill in my spine with the realization. "How did you get Pa's Lawbreaker? He never let us touch it." The cold metal felt oddly natural in my hand, "Hard to keep something away from people when you're 6ft under." I put it away in the back of my belt, something caught my eye though. It was a faint glistening off in the distance. Like a sparkle, shit. I tackled Jesse to the ground just as the shot fired right where he was standing. We crawled to a parked car for cover just as two black vans pulled up into the lot of the cafe.

"Friends of yours?" I asked as I cocked back the beretta and took an extra clip from Jesse. "How on God's green earth did they find-" he paused and took off his hat, after carefully examining the inside he pulled out a small red piece of technology and crushed it. "Damn you Reyes!" He shouted. I looked over the cover to see 8 heavily armed men in pitch black uniforms take up positions around us, while the bullets were rushing past us my military training kicked in for the first time in years and the familiar rush of adrenaline flowing through me, "8 hostiles heavily armed!" I shouted, he nodded to me and opened the driver side door of the car. After successfully hotwiring it he grabbed me and yelled, "Then they're just here to stall us! Come on!" I opened the back seat and dove in while Jesse got in the driver's seat and floored it. "Hold on!" With all the swerving that was going on I could barely keep track of the people shooting at us.

"You said they were stalling us. Why?!" I yelled as I took potshots out the rear windshield. "Neither of us are the main targets, these guys want to send a message. They're going after your family!" With that, something snapped inside me. I leaned up and took two shots into the van behind us, both landed into the chest of the driver as he swerved and collided with the other black van. I looked over at Jesse who had this mystified look on his face.

"Then let's kill them first." The words were dark and full of hate as they left my mouth. No one goes after my family.

No one...

* * *

12/24/2016

Ok so I have to apologize for the horribly long wait but do not worry I will have the next chapter out within the month (maybe two). Please don't hate me XD


	3. Chapter 3

So I must apologize for the very long wait there has been a lot happening in my life and my beta reader's but don't worry I am almost halfway through the 4th chapter already. I hope everyone had a very nice holiday!

* * *

I'm almost 100% certain that Jesse does not know how to drive. At all. He hit 7 stop signs, 2 dogs, and ignored every red light we came across. Don't get me wrong I truly appreciate his haste, but there is no way he knows how to actually drive this thing. "Ok these guys ain't fucking around, they _**will**_ kill you if you mess up even a little. Just follow my lead and everything will go smoothly ok?" Jesse yelled to the back seat. I nodded and reloaded my gun, I don't care how this gets done just as long as they die. He took a sharp turn and somehow parallel parked perfectly in front of my apartment, which was surprising given what I had seen of his driving skills during our trip. We quickly exited the vehicle and cautiously went into the apartment building. Everything was eerily quiet, like the entire building was holding its breath. We decided to take the stairs instead of being ambushed in the elevator, but we're probably gonna get ambushed anyways.

However, there were no mercs on the stairs or in the hallway leading to the apartment; even the door was still locked. "What the hell is going on?" Jesse whispered, his grip on his Peacekeeper visibly tightening. Carefully I unlocked the door and slowly creeped into my living room; it was quiet, too quiet. "Huh, I guess no one is here. Let's-" I didn't get to finish that sentence. As soon as I turned to leave all I felt was the butt of a gun smack me across the head and sending me sprawling. Before I managed to regain my footing, my assailant hoisted me up to my knees and placed what felt like the business end of a weapon to the back of my head, " _Well look what we have here."_ Her voice was dark, yet smooth, and I detected what I assumed to be a French accent.

" _Now, I have the little rat but where is the bigger one? Surely the criminal cares about his little brother ?"_ Her hands were as cold as ice and her skin was, blue? The small feminine hand held much more strength than I thought possible as she squeezed my shoulder until a sickening crack and pop were heard causing me to whimper in pain, but I still fought to get free despite it, " _Would you look at that, he has a strong will. Just like McCree. Talon will enjoy breaking him after I kill his family, and leave you knowing you couldn't do anything to stop me. You've always been a coward, there was no doubt that you would sacrifice your only living-"_ at this moment a familiar object came around the corner and I instinctively covered my eyes.

A high pitched ringing blocked out all the noise around me and I felt my captor release me and I felt a gasp of pain and relief escape my lips. I opened my eyes to see Jesse in front of me with his Peacekeeper drawn and its barrel smoking, quickly he grabbed my bad shoulder and threw me to the ground behind him. I regained my hearing to the sound of a hailstorm of bullets riddling the wall and window behind me with holes. Jesse dove behind the couch cursing, "Its Widowmaker! Shit, ok, follow my lead we need to get out of here!" He started pushing the couch towards her to knock her out of the way, but she gracefully flipped over it and fired a shot into Jesse. Then with some kind of grappling hook attached to her wrist, she shot it into my chest, pulled me into her reach and punched me in the face, sending me flying over the counter into my kitchen. I was too dazed to hear what was going on but it sounded like Jesse got up and started fighting this Widowmaker in hand to hand combat.

Despite my throbbing headache I stood up and started searching the drawers for the spare pulse pistol that I keep around here from my days in the army, it was a parting gift. I leaped over the counter and aimed at her to see her holding Jesse hostage with the grappling hook wrapped around his throat like a garrote, " _Now now my little rat, surrender yourself and come quietly and maybe, just maybe, I'll spare his pathetic life. And your family's too."_ A knot formed in my chest. _She has to be lying,_ I thought, _no way some terrorist organization will spare them, right?_ " _Clocks ticking, little rat."_ Jesse looked at me and shook his head, "Don't. Listen. To. Her." he choked out before she tightened her grip. "Let him go!" I yelled, activating the pistol and aiming right in between her yellow eyes. She tightened it more and I saw Jesse's face turn blue, " _Last chance."_ She smiled at me, she was enjoying this? What kind of messed up people did Talon hire?

I looked at Jesse one last time before saying, "I'm sorry brother" I dropped the pistol, "Let him go, I'll come with you." I raised my hands in surrender as she dropped him and began to walk over to me. The sound of her heels clicking on the hardwood floor filled the apartment as she carried herself with such grace that it was almost enchanting, her body was perfectly curved and smooth to the point that I'm pretty sure it's as much of a weapon as her rifle. " _You know, I hate getting this close to a target. But oh well, whatever completes the mission."_ I decided to pry a little, "What exactly is your mission?" Slowly she walked towards me, " _Well, my dear,"_ She had gotten within inches of me, I could practically feel how cold her skin was, she leaned in next to my ear and whispered. " _To kill you."_ I saw something glisten in her hand, but before I could stop it she plunged a knife into my stomach. The sharp pain rattled my body and I could feel the blood start to trickle into my mouth, she pulled it out and pushed me to my knees. " _Oh and I'll let you in on a little secret dear."_ She put the blade to my throat and whispered into my ear, " _Your wife was strong, I see why you picked her. But she still died like-_ " a glowing metallic hand interrupted her as it grabbed her by the throat and threw her across the room.

My vision was hazy due to blood loss but I saw some robotic looking thing locked in combat with Widowmaker. She quickly retrieved her rifle and fired shots at it but in a flash of green the bullets seemed to fly across the room. "Hey! Stay with me little brother!" I could hear Jesse yell, I went to turn to him but noticed I was already lying on the floor in a pool of my own blood. I reached out to a small end table to try and lift myself from the ground but a red haze of pain washed over me, it was like every fiber of my body was being burned and frozen solid at the same time. The table fell over and a picture landed next to me, with the little ounce of strength I had left I grabbed it and turned it over. My family, Shae and James, they're gone. I could feel it, it was like my soul was ripped right out of me. My body started convulsing and I threw the picture away, instantly a flash of all my memories painfully burned into my brain from infancy to now. I screamed and thrashed in pain, the veins in my left arm became as dark as the night, a thick dark liquid started to leak from my wound.

 _Poison, that's what this is. What the hell kind of poison is this?_ Jesse rolled me over and held me in his arms. My vision was hazy and all the sound in the room was but a muffled whisper, but something like water started to hit my face and trickle down my cheeks. It tasted like tears, tears? Jesse was crying? The robot from before leaned down and injected something into my thigh, everything started getting blurry and both of them moved in slow motion as they started to move my now still body. Before I blacked out I saw the shattered picture of my family, lying in the pool of my blood.

….

"This is where the generator is?" Jesse asked as he was attempting to light a cigarette, Reinhardt leaned his hammer close and he used the jets in the back to light it. The generator had been set up in the old school, mainly because the backup generator was also there. From the looks of it, it was abandoned, which was bad. There's usually guards all around the premises to keep people out and to keep them from tampering, but it was deadly silent and empty. No bodies or signs of entry other than the front doors being wide open. I lifted my pistol only to notice it was empty and I had no extra ammunition on me. _Great, no bullets in a hostile situation._ I thought, "Here kid," Morrison said behind me.

I turned to see him holding a deactivated pulse pistol, "it's my sidearm, go ahead and hold onto it for now." Mercy walked over, "Jack are you sure that's a good idea? He has little to no combat experience. I don't want to have to patch him up because he misfired a pulse weapon." While she was talking I had already activated the pistol, synchronized it with my HUD, and loaded it. Morrison gave me an amused look and turned Mercy around, "I think he's fine Ziegler." He moved to the front of the group with Reinhardt to secure the front of the school, she turned to me and seemed to want to protest but just let out a sigh. "With all due respect ma'am, I can take care of myself." I said as I turned around, "You're more like your brother than I thought, only he calls me ma'am." She chuckled, I knew she meant well and all, but it angered me. I am nothing like him, I'm not a coward who would leave behind his family and go off with a gang and get himself arrested, only to rot in jail for the rest of his life.

A hand stopped me from storming off and I saw Mercy with a concerned look on her face, "He loves you, you have to realize that." She rested her hand on my shoulder, "We have a saying back home, _Blood is thicker than water_. You will always be brothers. That bond, even if you refuse to acknowledge it, will always be there." I shrugged her hand off, "You done?" I began to turn around but she grabbed my arm, "Just give him a chance, please? Doctors orders." I gave her a deathly glare, but ultimately sighed in defeat. "Fine." I pulled away from her grasp once again, only this time she didn't reach after me. Jesse and I moved behind Morrison in a tight formation with Reinhardt out front with his shield deployed, "Genji report," Morrison called over the radio, "The area is clear, Morrison-san, this troubles me."

The ID showed a robot with bright green lights on his body, or at least on his face. "Make your way to our position, Ana is covering us, we could use you to scout the school." There was a deadly silence whilst we waited for Genji to respond. "Genji? Respond!" Morrison shouted into the comm link. After a brief moment Genji reported back, "Sir you must get out of the school! Multiple hostiles approaching!" Reinhardt quickly turned the shield to the front door we just came through, "Damn it! Ana what do you see?" The sound of sniper rounds firing outside gave indication that Ana was already busy, "ya alqaraf! Where did they come from? They must have had cloaks, it's like they just appeared out of nowhere." Reinhardt fortified the front door with his barrier taking fire, there were dozens of heavily armored terrorists that seemed to come out of nowhere taking position, they seemed somewhat disorganized however and were falling like flies to Ana's sniper fire and Morrison's pulse rifle. "McCree! Take your brother to the generator and fix the damn thing! We can cover you here, randezvous on the roof when you're finished. Go!" He shouted I nodded towards Jesse and took off down the hall, the sound of spurs quickly following behind me. As we left I could hear the sound of Reinhardt's laughter, "Haha! I live for this!"


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Sorry about the wait me and my beta reader have been getting swamped with work/school/family ect. so I have TWO chapters however.**

"Jesus where the hell is this thing?" Jesse complained. I knew exactly where we were going and how far this thing was but he was being so annoyingly impatient I pretty much gave up. "Somewhere in here now shut the hell up for 5 Goddamn seconds. Aren't you suppose to be some elite soldier or something? You're worse than my wife." I returned my attention to the once flourishing building around me; when my tour started this place was up and running and busy as a flea market. The poor families from this place could safely come here and give their kids an education that wasn't anything like they were used to here. Teachers from all over the world came here to help as well as doctors, preachers, and architects. But when these terrorists started up the school was the first hit, I wasn't put on the response team because I was busy repairing equipment since this is my first tour. They blew up half of it and took 177 lives; teachers, students, and fellow soldiers. We had to turn the school from a place of safety and education to a foothold for war, but we had to retreat to protect other "assets". Or in other words places that bigger businesses were paying to protect, but what am I supposed do about it I'm just a grunt. "I'm just sayin, maybe you don't actually know where you're going." He said, lighting a new cigarette. "I know where I'm going, this isn't the first time I've been here. Just shut up and keep your eyes peeled." We made it to the backup generator room after a few minutes of walking in silence, with the occasional explosion from the outside. I tried the door only to find that it was rusted shut, "Stand aside little brother, I'ma use some of my southern charm to open this puppy up." Jesse said, before I could retort he broke the door down with one swift kick. "You are such an idiot." I sighed as I flicked on my flashlight and raised my pistol so we could descended into the eerily dark room. Dust coated everything, even the air was thick with the smell of mildew which threatened to suffocate us.

Thankfully I spotted the generator, "Alright Jesse, let-" an object collided with the back of my head and sent me to the floor. My consciousness only went a little hazy instead of me blacking out, I heard something of an apology and then Black something before sound of spurs started creeping their way towards the generator. After the haze when away I looked up to see he was hunched over messing with some beeping device. Quietly, fighting through the pain in the back of my skull, I stood up and reached for anything in the darkness to help me. My hands met with a rebar pipe that must've came from a pile of debris or something. My hands trembled as I slowly creeped behind Jesse, who was fiddling with some device still. He seemed to be having some difficulty with it as a curse would escape his mouth along with an agitated grunt here and there. Thankfully I got within a few feet behind him without alerting him, I raised the pipe above my head, but something in me hesitated….. for a second. I swung with as much strength as I could muster and connected with his side, throwing him off into the darkness with a cry of pain. Within seconds, it was silent again. Just me and his hat floating slowly to the ground. My grip tightened, no way he's down for the count. My eyes frantically searched the darkness before they turned to the device he was messing with. It was, a satchel charge. He was rigging this generator to explode! Before I could reach down to try and deactivate it, what sounded similar to a baseball being hit with a bat sounded behind me and a sharp burning pain exploded in my shoulder. I fell forward onto the explosive and a high pitched beep sounded throughout the generator room. "Are you shitting me?" Jesse yelled from the darkness.

The sound of his boots and spurs quickly sounded as he sprinted over and rolled me off the explosive charge and examined it, I saw as his expression changed quickly from pissed off to panicked. "For fucks sake! Come on you little shit!" He shouted as he violently jerked me up and put my wounded arm around his shoulder, "What did you do?" I demanded as he hurried me up the steps, I saw in the side of his armor that I severely damaged a good portion of it. He ignored me, so I did one of the only things my mind could come up with at the moment, I threw myself into him and ignored the pain so I could tackle him into the nearby wall. Unfortunately the wall was weak and we pummeled straight through it and into a children's classroom. He quickly rolled and threw me off him, when I was got my bearings I saw an extremely pissed off McCree pointing a Peacemaker in my face. "We. Do. Not. Have. Time." I forced myself to stand and looked him in the eyes. "You're still the same criminal I grew up with. You betrayed Overwatch." He stepped closer, his gun shaking slightly. "The terrorists that have been attacking the area are using the same power grid as you. My Commander saw that it's only a matter of time before the Army is kicked out and these people are killed or worse, so he sent me to take it down." The tension in the air was so thick you could drown in it. "What? This is bullshit! Commander Morrison wouldn't-" he hit me in the face with the gun and started talking again. "He's not my Commander, there's things you don't understand and shit I don't feel like explaining to you! Why did you have to be here!? You complicated everything!" There was a very noticeable tremble in his hand and voice. "Why does it matter?! What's so wrong about me being here?" I shouted back. I heard a gravelly voice yell into his comms, " _McCree? Is the generator down? Did you eliminate the technician?"_ He slowly reached up and pressed down on his ear, "Stand by Reyes."

He stared at me, tears in his eyes, gun trembling. I took a moment but it dawned on me, I was the technician. "It was supposed to be quick; Morrison would've never known and would assume the technician was KIA and they blew up the generator. I came here as "backup" so I could get closer. It wasn't supposed to be you, God why does it have to be you?" I was speechless, what could I do? Attack him? Hug him? A sudden thought dawned on me and tore me from my state of disbelief. _Bomb._ I took advantage of his current state and disarmed him, the searing pain in my shoulder will have to be ignored for now, and picked up his heavy frame and tackled him out the nearby window just as the building shook violently. I blacked out on impact with the ground.

I regained consciousness just as a horrible burning sensation erupted in my shoulder, I around to see Jesse dusting himself off and grabbing his Peacemaker. He turned to me, then back to the gun. "Well, I never did like playing by the rules." He holstered it and carefully put me over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. "Morrison wants us to regroup with them in the front of the school, after the explosion the terrorists retreated." I was trying to ignore the blood dripping from my shoulder and into the sand so talking actually sounded like a nice idea for once, "What did you tell him?" He put a new cigarette in his mouth and lit it, slowly breathing out the smoke. "That they beat us too it and you were wounded, and that we barely made it out alive." I sighed, I couldn't help but feel like I failed, but something bugged me. "What did you tell this Reyes?" There was a long silence before he puffed out, "You were never here, in my report I'm just gonna put down the name of one of your deceased squad mates. Do us both a favor and stick with my story. My commander and Morrison don't need to but heads anymore than they already do." I slightly nodded, I'm pretty sure I had a concussion as well so arguing was out of the question since I just didn't want to spend more energy already. "Thanks." He said, I looked at him confused. "For what?" The same smirk I grew up seeing appeared on his face, "Saving my life even after I nearly took yours, betrayed you, and shot you." "Don't mention it." Was all I felt like saying, the blood loss and concussion was making me tired.

I must've blacked out again because I woke up in an unfamiliar ship being healed by Mercy again. She flashed me a smile when I woke up, "Sorry we couldn't stop the school from exploding." I said, a hand on my shoulder drew my attention to Morrison who was sitting next to me. "Don't blame yourself kid. We've already started evacuating civilians and the U.S military is pulling back to other bases and refugee camps. You did good, I'll be sure to mention that in my report to the UN." I nodded to him, Reinhardt came by and handed me a cup of something. I eyed it before taking a small sip, I can only describe the taste as getting shot in the face. "Oh God what is that?" I said as Reinhardt and Morrison started laughing hysterically, "That my friend is pure German beer! Put a few more hairs on your chest doesn't it?" Reinhardt shouted, I'm pretty sure he doesn't notice that most of what he says comes out as hearty yelling. "Leave him be I'm still healing him. You took quite the beating today I'm impressed how well you pulled through." Mercy said as she let her staff do all the healing. I noticed around the ship that Jesse was nowhere to be found. Ana came out from the cockpit and must have noticed me searching for something, "He left in a different shuttle, something about a new mission or whatnot." She said while walking over with some tea, she slid it over to me. "What is it?" I questioned as I prodded the cup. "It's just tea what do you think it is?" Morrison and Reinhardt chuckled, "Because these two. Thanks." I said. The tea wasn't too bitter and surprisingly tasted great.

The rest of the trip was quite pleasant and they dropped me back off at HQ before sundown. I gave my report quickly and went to my quarters, it was a small 6X8 room with a bed and a small storage unit. On my bed was a letter, I turned it over to see it had the UN seal. _That was fast._ I thought, I opened it up and the contents read.

" _Dear Corporal Joseph McCree,_

 _You have been selected for your skills to be apart of a joint task force with United Nations and Overwatch. Your will be transferred to Watchpoint Gibraltar at 0700 hours tomorrow where you will be debriefed by a representative from Overwatch following another debriefing by a representative of the United Nations._

 _P.S. You must have really impressed someone to earn a spot like this_

 _Sincerely, Gabrielle Adawe"_

By this point I was already packing and jumping around with shear excitement. "Everything is about to change." I thought out loud as I quickly got into bed. What could go wrong?

….

I opened my eyes to see only darkness, I could hear nothing, I felt like I was floating in a warm lake. " _Is this hell?"_ I asked the infinite darkness and received no response. At once I began to recall the events that just took place, my family getting murdered, getting stabbed, then poisoned. Even with this loss, I felt nothing. No remorse, no hate, as if everything that made me human was stripped from my very being. I closed my eyes again and started to drift when a familiar voice rung in my ears, "Don't you die on me Goddamnit!" I felt a sharp pain in my chest and a rush of air filled my lungs as my eyes opened to see a painfully bright room. "Keep him on the table!" A woman yelled from behind me, three metal arms and one human one grabbed me and pushed me back down as they pulled a needle of epinephrine from my chest. My entire body was on fire and I saw the black veins in my arms, the blinding light died down and I recognized Jesse and Genji who were fighting my convulsing body to stay on the table. "How much longer till you make the antidote?" Genji's metallic voice calmly asked, "Yeah he aint looking good doc!" Jesse yelled. The noise behind me got louder and the woman let out some curses and I'm pretty sure she knocked over some things. "Here inject this into his heart!" Jesse caught the long syringe filled with a bright blue liquid and inspected it before asking, "You sure this'll work?" A frustrated grunt came from the woman and the clicking of heels quickly made their way over to me, I saw her arm yank it from his hand and jam it through my chest and drain the liquid. She turned my head to her, I saw an angelic face with long blond hair. "You're going to be ok. Just rest now." Instantly I fell asleep, with nightmares of my family.

 _Sometime later….._

I woke up slowly, for a moment in panic as I forgot where I was. I looked to see Jesse laid back in a chair with his hat over his face and Genji sitting on the floor meditating, while Mercy typed away at a computer. I tried to sit up when a sharp pain erupted from my stomach and let a pained groan escape my lips, before I even blinked Mercy was already at the side of the table. "Try not to move, I was waiting for the antidote to get rid of the poison completely before using my Caduceus Staff to heal your other wounds." "Mercy where am I?" I asked, she winced and said, "Please, call me Dr. Ziegler or Angela when I'm not in the Valkyrie suit. You're in a hospital in Numbani I came as soon as Genji called, and to be honest I didn't think you would pull through. Thankfully Genji injected some nanobots into your system which was keeping your heart from stopping but also spread the poison to most of your body." She took some blood from my arm and put it in a machine nearby, it let out a loud beep and she sighed in relief and walked back to activate the Caduceus Staff that was above and angled it to my abdomen. She pulled over a wheeled chair and sat next to me, "I have some bad news however. The poison you were exposed to was a weaponized version of botulinum toxin. I'll spare you the scientific talk and just come out with it, you can't walk."

At hearing this my ekg monitor accelerated rapidly and I started to panic. "What the fuck do you mean I can't walk!" I started to try and move my legs and get up, but nothing. Angela tried to put me back on the table but I threw her off and knocked a bunch of trays and medical supply off which startled Genji and Jesse and they ran over to me. I threw all my weight to the side and fell off the table with a very painful thud, "Joseph stop! You're going to damage yourself further!" I tried desperately to move my legs and stand but it was all in vain, they put me back on the table and gave me a light sedative to keep me from trying to get up again. "Usually botulinum toxin causes paralysis of the respiratory system which is usually how people die from it. However, whoever stabbed you had a weaponized version that dispersed throughout the nervous system in your lower abdomen and into your bloodstream. The antidote I very quickly synthesized stopped it from spreading in your blood and throughout your nervous system, but the nerves in your lower body are basically kaput." Mercy said, Genji stood there with an expressionless robotic face while Jesse took his hat off. She gripped my hand tightly, "But, I have an idea. A colleague of mine in Overwatch is an amazing scientist and I've been emailing him about your condition and we think we've come of with a way to make you walk again. You need to be injected with nanotechnology and I'm going to surgically implant a sort of "mini factory" that will keep your nervous system in working order. What it's going to do is supply your body with a steady supply of nanobots that will continue to help your system send and receive signals and then work their way out of your body through natural means. We plan to have the surgery later this week, he actually has a prototype that was created to something similar that just needs some tweaking." Just then a man busted through the door, he was shaking and his dark hair was in a mess and all over the place which his doctor uniform, "Dr. Ziegler! Have y-you seen the news!?" He shouted, with an uncanny speed Genji grabbed the remote and turned on the T.V. which showed a helicopter view of a smoldering building from the national news channel. The title read, " _Overwatch Swiss Headquarters In Flames"_ we turned the volume up to hear the news anchor.

" _An explosion today at the Swiss Headquarters of Overwatch has devastated the entire building and among the many casualties only two have been confirmed dead. Jack Morrison, the strike commander of Overwatch, and Gabriel Reyes. An investigation has been launched on Overwatch as new evidence has turned up against them. In other news the bodies of James and Shae McCree were discovered murdered in a very graphic scene in their apartment and police are urging anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Joseph McCree who is the prime suspect in their murder. Now here's Victor with the weather report."_

Time stopped, everything that once held my life together was unraveling all at once. My family was really gone, and Overwatch was being destroyed slowly, and from the waist down I was completely useless. My feelings of remorse quickly changed to hatred and anger, I'm going to kill every single last one of them. "Jesse, that woman who attacked us. Who sent her?" I asked, he seemed completely lost and devastated about the news and almost didn't hear me. "What?" He asked, my anger boiled over before I could help it. "WHO SENT HER!?" I yelled as I slammed my fist into the nearby tray table. Everyone, even the cyborg ninja, jumped and stared at me in mixed disbelief and sadness. He fumbled with his hat for a moment, "A growing terrorist organization called Talon. We don't really have much but we know that they've been targeting Overwatch and other national organizations and buildings." His eyes widened with realization, "No! Don't go down this road. You're not go-" enraged I threw a scalpel at him and he barely blocked it but it still planted firmly in his human hand. He pulled it out of him and quickly ran and punched me across the jaw, "Listen here you little shit! I don't want you to get yourself killed chasing after these guys! Let us deal with them and I swear we will stop them. We will protect others from getting hurt." I grabbed my jaw, the caduceus staff healed me just as fast, "Just like you protected my family?" Dead. Silence. He put on his hat and slowly walked out the room, pushing past the other doctor. Genji followed suit and Angela went back to her computer and started typing away again. I will get my vengeance, and no one is going to stop me.

No one….


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Sorry about the long wait just wanted to give everyone a heads up that both chapters ( 4 and 5 ) will be updated soon and I will work on the next chapter in my spare time. Please leave a review with your thoughts they help me (and my supremely awesome beta reader) direct the chapter to where it's entraining for you (the reader or readers) and me :D**

* * *

 _6 years later_

I hate Dorado, the bars are shit, the gangs think they control everything, and nobody appreciates the meaning of "southern hospitality". A tray of scotch that was gently sat on my table took me out of my thought, "Holá, the chico over at that table sent it." The waitress said, I looked over in the corner to see a man sitting in the dark with an ominous red glow coming from his face every now and then. I picked up the tray and walked over, he tenses up and leaned forward, he seemed to be ready for anything. "You know, buyin another man a drink is a kind gesture and all, but I ain't really interested." I said as I sat down, he eyed me as if to scan me, then he looked around the rest of the room. "Gun, on the table, now." He said, I rested my hand on it, but my Peacemaker isn't leaving the holster unless I'm shooting someone. "You can trust me Jesse, I just need to talk to you." The man said, when I seemed unconvinced he leaned forward and revealed a red mask with a glowing visor and dull grey hair. "It's about your brother. Joseph." Split second later I was standing up pointing my Peacemaker at him, he was just as fast and I was staring down a pulse rifle. "You're. Making. A. Scene." Before either of us could make a move, I heard movement behind us, I looked over my shoulder to see a group of 5 gang members. The glowing, neon, skeleton tattoos over their bodies in the dimly lit bar told me they were part of the Los Muertos gang that has been attacking the Omnics and people here. "Look at you two gringos! Causing trouble in our bar are you?" The mysterious red visored man sighed, "Great, you never change McCree. Now we have to deal with them and get out of here before the authorities get here in 15 minutes. Meet on the roof when we're done, no killing." "What makes you think-." And with that he threw the table, disorienting the gang members. I rolled into their group and knocked the shit out of the lead one, but another one tackled me into the bar. He started wailing into me until the red visored man grabbed him and bashed his face into the bar next to me, I returned the favor by clotheslining one that was charging him while his back was turned. That left us squaring off against three, I liked our odds. Until they all pulled out pistols and aimed at us, "¡Ustedes dos están muertos!" ( _You two are dead!)._ They stood there aiming at us, daring us to make a move. "Hey McCree, what time is it?" I looked at him, why the hell does he think I'm concerned about the time in this situation? "How the hell should I know!?" I shouted frustratedly, he let out a sigh and repeated it. "No, what _time_ is it?!" The sudden realization struck me like a lightning bolt. I rested my hand on my Peacekeeper and saw the noticeable tension in the thugs in front of me, "Why, it's high noon." Activating my deadeye I targeted their hands, before they could react I drew on them and within the blink of an eye shot their guns out of their hands. The smoking barrel of my Peacekeeper gave them the que to bolt out of this shit bar, a hand on my shoulder took my attention to the red visored man. "Rooftop, now." He started to turn, but looked back at me. "Unless you just don't care about your brother anymore."

…

We decided it was best to sit in an old bell tower and not on top of the bar we kinda trashed. "So what's so important that you needed to bring my brother up?" I questioned, the light of my electric cigar lighted up a small bit of the dark old building. "He's in deep, I started tracking him a few months back after he started showing up in some very precarious places. I was following a lead in Egypt and he was there, hunting down talon agents." I let out a sad sigh, "If you got a point, make it." I said. I could see through his visor but he seemed surprised. "He's in over his head, Talon will kill him soon if you don't stop him. Or worse, they'll reprogram him and turn him into a killing machine." I flinched, the thought of my baby brother becoming a soulless monster sent a shudder through me. "He made it pretty clear last time we met that he didn't want my help. Didn't help the fact that he shot me either." My gut got twinge of pain, reminding me of that day. The man in front of me turned, the number 76 was large on his back. "Look, I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for me." He turned and stared at me, the confused look on my face signaled him to continue. "I've done a lot of wrong in the past, I'm trying to right those wrongs. This is just another step to that. Go save your brother, before he gets himself killed." He looked out onto the town and grabbed his rifle, "I got to go, if you truly care for your brother go to Kings Row, in Great Britain. That's the last place I saw him." He jumped out the window, I ran over to it to grab him but when I saw him land on the ground beneath he stood up unscathed. There was something familiar about him, but I couldn't place it. "Well, guess I got a plane to catch." I hope I get to him before he does anything stupid.

 _Kings Row_

I've been searching for Joseph for 3 days, nothing. I guess I taught him too well on how to hide his tracks. I started to give up hope, a small hand on my arm tore me from my thoughts. I turned to see a small, and very hyper, chipper Brit who's grown on me. "Why the long face love?" Tracer said. She was like the little sister I never had, ever since the accident I've kept her close just in case she needs me. "He's here, I can feel it." I continued to started out into the city hoping for something the just pop up and scream "Hey look over here!" She gave me a light hug and grabbed her old bomber jacket, "Well I gotta get outa here. Mondatta's speech is soon and am not gonna miss it. Wanna come with me?" She blinked in front of me with pleading little eyes, I placed my metallic hand on her shoulder and gave a light squeeze. "Sorry darlin, I gotta look for my brother. Go enjoy yourself, but not too much ya hear? Emily will get crazy jealous." She chuckled gave me a nod, then in the blink of an eye she disappeared. I picked up my binoculars and started scanning the buildings and roof tops for anything, nothing. I let out huff and decided to do some up close recon, that is till my cell rang with a secure number. "Howdy." I said,Tracer excitedly exploded on the other line. "Ello love, I just ran into some really rude bloke who stormed right past me and knocked me drink outa my hand. Little bastard's lucky my jacket di-" I cut her off before she started rambling. "Ok settle down darlin what's so important you needed to call?" She let out a sigh, "You remember how I was on that mission with with your brother where he nearly got blown to hell? And how I visited him in the hospital and we poked fun at his scar and everything to make him feel better. The thing is, this guy had a long scar on his face, just like your brother's." I felt my chest contract, "no it can't be, are you sure?" There was a small pause, "I'm not 100%, he seemed different. Like he was disconnected from the world. But he had the same scar, and he seems to have partially adopted your look. He had a black cowboy hat and a cape draped over his right arm that's probably hiding a weapon, oh and get this he was wearing heavy combat boots it was like every step was just _boom, boom, boom_!" I nearly dropped the phone, "Those aren't the boots, it's what Doc did to him so he could walk. I'm on my way where is he?" I said as I was leaving the apartment, "I lost him in the crowd, he's here though I'll keep an eye out." And with that I was in an all out sprint. Within minutes I found the light blue coronal excelerator in the crowd and grabbed Tracer, "Point me in the right direction." She grabbed my arm and lead me through the masses of people and Omnics. "What did you mean it's what Doc did? Did Mercy do something to him?" She questioned, "Mercy and Winston had this, thing. Like some nanobot factory that would repair and control his nerves or something. The surgery was a success for the most part but he needed something to regulate his nanobots, and so he has biomechanical implants in his legs that work with something in his head." She stopped and scanned the crowd, "So why is he loud like that?" She asked, she has the curiousity of a child. "My brother is an excellent engineer. He modified the implants to give him abilities, like enhanced speed and agility. The only defect we found so far is that it increased his weight by about 100 pounds or something." She perked up and pointed. "There!" I looked through the waves of people and noticed a black figure stalking through the crowd. "Ok thanks Lena, now go enjoy your speech or whatever. This may get a bit… heated." She saluted and blinked away. I looked back to see him enter and alley so I bolted to catch up to him, and when I made it there he was climbing up a ladder to the rooftops. I waited for him to reach the top before I started to quietly climb up, I got an uneasy feeling in my gut when a noise in the alley caught my attention. Instinctively I turned with my Peacekeeper out only to notice an orange alley cat. I let out a sigh, _I don't even know why I'm nervous it's not like he's gonna kill me. Right?"_ I turned back to see a gloved hand grab me by the pancho and hurl me across the rooftop, when I stopped rolling I went for Peacekeeper but with an unnatural speed my assailant caught me and kicked it away. With his uncloaked hand he grabbed me by the throat and lifted me into the air, "Leave. If you follow me or try to stop me I won't be held accountable for what I'll do to you." I nearly didn't recognize the face of the man before me, but inside I knew it was Joseph. His once piercing, bright, blue eyes were now cold and filled with anger. His scar was more noticeable and his face had acquired new ones, his right arm was covered with a cape but I could tell he had a gun holstered under there. The arm that was lightly choking me looked human and not robotic like mine but how we was holding me off the ground with ease was beyond me. He dropped me and I landed on my ass, I noticed he was in mostly dark clothing and the black cowboy hat Tracer mentioned was no lie; he had black combat boots and dark grey jeans and a sleeveless tactical vest. "What the hell happened to you?" I looked up at him, he silently stared down at me. "I adapted, just like you taught me." And he walked off, effortlessly jumping from building to building. "What the hell?" Something is not right here. He's altered his technology or something, that might explain the unnatural strength come to think of it. I have to find out, I started the climb down and ran down the street to follow him. Then my earpiece exploded, "Jesse there's a shooter on the roofs! I saw your brother running after her! I'm going after them!" I kept running and saw all the commotion of security teams trying to push through all the masses of people and get Mondatta to safety, I looked up and time slowed. Tracer was right in the crosshairs of the infamous Widomaker, but right as she shot she blinked. I nearly sighed in relief but I followed the bullet, I knew who the target was. Before Mondatta made it in his vehicle, the bullet hit him square in the face and his limp body fell into the car. I pushed through the now panicking civilians and scurried up a ladder to another building, but I was too late. I found Tracer lying on the ground clutching her sides, whimpering. I ran over to her and took off my hat, "Lena! Are you hurt?" I asked as I cradled her in my arms, she just lightly cried into my shoulder. "There's nothing you could've done, come on let's go back to your apartment."

 _Following morning…._

When Lena finally got out of bed she told me of her encounter with Widomaker, turns out she was here to assassinate Mondatta and almost failed thanks to Lena. She didn't see my brother up there with her, so I guess that's comforting for the most part. She stopped crying sometime in the night, but now she just sat in a quiet silence. "Hey, come on now don't be like that. Those Talon bastards will get what's comin to em soon." I reassured her, she waved me off. "It's not that, it's just." She trailed off, looking into the table. I grabbed a cup of tea I had brewing for her and sat down next to her. "What?" She wouldn't look at me, but she took the tea anyways and halfheartedly sipped it. "It's just, I feel like there's more to this than-" a knocking on the door interrupted her. My nerves immediately tensed, as if to warn me that something bad was gonna happen. Slowly I walked over to the door, my hand firmly placed on my gun, and looked through the peephole. Nothing, "Hmm, you got kids ding dong ditching places here?" I chuckled, I turned to Tracer just as an arm punched through the door and connected with my jaw, sending me flying into the living room. I rolled back to my feet and aimed Peacekeeper at my assailant, only to find an all too familiar face. "Jesse, how about we put that gun down and settle this like men hmm?" He said, bright purple eyes piercing into me. "Over my dead body. What the hell is wrong with you? What the fuck did you do to yourself?" He let out a light chuckle. "Well, it's gonna be a bit difficult to explain once you're dead." A dark smirk covered his face just as a blue blip came out of nowhere and tackled him into the wall, the blip returned to my side to reveal a surprisingly excited Tracer holding her pulse pistols. "Don't worry love, calvary's here!" Joseph stood back up, fury in his eyes, and reached through his cape for his gun. Only to find the holster empty, "Lookin for this?" Tracer said twirling a pitch black revolver around in her hand. He snarled at us and tore the cape off, revealing an empty holster and an arm with glowing red implants in his elbow and shoulder. "God, what did you do to yourself?" He started walking towards us, I aimed both revolvers at him but it didn't deter him. "Jesse, he's not stopping!" Tracer yelled, fingers itching to pull the trigger. _Whelp, only one thing left to do._ I threw the guns to the side and tackled him, but he didn't go down and he started throwing me into the walls around him. He threw me behind him and into the dining room table, I let out a groan and turned to see Tracer and Joseph locked in hand to hand combat. I will never, ever, EVER, underestimate Tracer again. She blinked back and forth attacking with such ferocity that my little brother couldn't keep up with her, she brought him to his knees and just rained down punches and kicks. I pulled myself up and threw off the remnants of the once fancy brown table so I could help Tracer; however Joseph caught one of the kicks and threw her into the tv across the room. I saw him speed over there and gab her by the throat and lift her small frame in the air, I saw her eyes widen in desperation as she started to choke. He was gonna kill her, I grabbed the item closest to me which just so happened to be a cast iron pan and tossed it. The pan hit him square in the back of the head and he dropped Lena, and turned around with a dazed look on his face. "Jesse? Wha- where am I?" Just as he said that the loud pang of the pan hitting him again filled the apartment and he fell down unconscious, with a very exhausted Tracer holding a pan behind him. "What the fuck is wrong with your brother!?" She yelled, hearing the small Brit curse like that stunned me. "I- I don't know." She let out a huff and grabbed the bridge of her nose, "Well, great. I need to make a few calls and start packing, you should too. There's some zip ties somewhere and maybe a bike chain you can use to restrain him." She said while blinking around the room gathering supplies, "And where exactly are we going?" I questioned, pulling out my electric cigar.

She looked at me exploding with excitement, "Watchpoint Gibraltar! Time to meet an old friend!" I nodded, and let out a sigh I didn't know I was holding. I leaned down to my brother and rolled him on his back and examined his arm. Whatever he had in him, had to be illegal. "I'll fix you, I swear." I promised in a whisper, hopefully when he wakes up he'll want to talk instead of kill me.


End file.
